74 ANATIDAi 
The eggs, four in number, are smooth and creamy- 
white in colour. Incubation begins about the middle of 
June. 
The Brent is readily tamed, and thrives well in captivity. 
Geographical distribution—This Goose has a wide breed- 
ing-distribution in Arctic Kurope and America, far beyond 
the limit of forest growth. It breeds on the Siberian 
Islands and Coasts, on the Islands in the Arctic Ocean as 
Kolguev, Novaya-Zemlya, Spitzbergen and Franz Josef 
Land. In winter it visits the sea-board of Kurope, North 
Africa and Western Asia. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial—HHead, throat, neck, 
and upper breast, black; a small white patch on either side 
of the neck, which sometimes becomes confluent, forming 
either a complete ring or a ‘ horse-shoe’ of white feathers ; 
back and wings, brownish-black, with paler edges ; primaries, 
rump and tail, black ; upper and under tail-coverts, white ; 
lower breast and abdomen, bluish-grey, with the edges of 
the feathers of a hghter shade. 
Adult female nuptial.—Browner 1n colour than the male. 
Adult winter, male and female.—Almost similar to the 
nuptial plumage, except that the feathers of back and wings 
are tinged with rusty-brown. 
Immature, male and female.—The colours are much 
duller than in the adult and there is less white on the neck. 
Brak. Black, including the ‘ nail.’ 
Freer. Black. 
Iripes. Blackish-brown. 
AYERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
LOW oa EIN GIVES «eee sue salt Qa si 
WING ae Ae A cab, atonoe a, 
Brak af ne Ernie ae ieee 
TARSO-METATARSUS ae Le Dia, 
Eae ae a = sae) eye Sxaaliaes in. 
Allied Species and Representative Forms.—B. nigricans, 
with a white collar and black lower breast, 1s the American 
representative. 
